All Articles Tagged 'Garros' - Tennisopolis : Tennis Social Network2015-03-03T21:14:45Zhttp://tennisopolis.com/profiles/blog/feed?tag=Garros&xn_auth=noThis Week in Tennis 6-14-2013 Are Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams the Greatest of All Time?tag:tennisopolis.com,2013-06-18:1869403:BlogPost:10532262013-06-18T08:41:19.000ZPhil Naessens Tennis Academyhttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/PhilNaessensTennisAcademy
<p><span><a href="http://thisweekintennispodcast.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/tennis-logo2.jpg?w=584" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="http://thisweekintennispodcast.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/tennis-logo2.jpg?w=584"></img></a> Are Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams the greatest tennis players of all time? Please join host Phil Naessens and special co-host Craig Doyle as they answer this often asked question, recap the French Open and talk about the dreaded “no call no show” on this edition of This Week in Tennis.…</span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://thisweekintennispodcast.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/tennis-logo2.jpg?w=584" target="_blank"><img src="http://thisweekintennispodcast.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/tennis-logo2.jpg?w=584" class="align-full"/></a>Are Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams the greatest tennis players of all time? Please join host Phil Naessens and special co-host Craig Doyle as they answer this often asked question, recap the French Open and talk about the dreaded “no call no show” on this edition of This Week in Tennis.</span></p>
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<p>You can follow Phil on Twitter @flashtennis31</p>This Week in Tennis 6-7-2013 Rafael Nadal Complains About His French Open Scheduletag:tennisopolis.com,2013-06-09:1869403:BlogPost:10491452013-06-09T06:41:25.000ZPhil Naessens Tennis Academyhttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/PhilNaessensTennisAcademy
<p><span><a href="http://thisweekintennispodcast.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/tennis-logo2.jpg?w=584" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="http://thisweekintennispodcast.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/tennis-logo2.jpg?w=584"></img></a> Rafael Nadal complains about his schedule at Roland Garros. Does he have a legit complaint? Plus the guys review this past weeks French Open results and look ahead to the semi finals and finals. For all this and more please join host Phil Naessens and co-host Craig Doyle on this edition of This Week in Tennis</span></p>
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<p>To save this program to your…</p>
<p><span><a href="http://thisweekintennispodcast.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/tennis-logo2.jpg?w=584" target="_blank"><img src="http://thisweekintennispodcast.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/tennis-logo2.jpg?w=584" class="align-full"/></a>Rafael Nadal complains about his schedule at Roland Garros. Does he have a legit complaint? Plus the guys review this past weeks French Open results and look ahead to the semi finals and finals. For all this and more please join host Phil Naessens and co-host Craig Doyle on this edition of This Week in Tennis</span></p>
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<p>You can follow Phil on Twitter @flashtennis31</p>What About Ana?tag:tennisopolis.com,2012-06-01:1869403:BlogPost:8973152012-06-01T21:13:23.000ZSteven Whitehttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/StevenWhite
<p style="text-align: justify; font: 12px 16px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a><img align="left" border="0" class="imghomepad" height="205" hspace="4" src="http://www.tennisone.com/images/photos/Ivanovic-forehand.jpg" width="179"></img></a> This former World No. 1 has failed to live up to early expectations following her 2008 French Open title. Still, Ana Ivanovic's game is a pattern of solid strokes and aggressive strategies. An offensive baseline attacker, Ivanovic also possesses a big, if unsteady serve. Inspired by Monica Seles, Ivanovic makes her living on the baseline, slugging out flat forehands similar to Maria Sharapova and her…</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; font: 12px 16px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a><img class="imghomepad" border="0" hspace="4" align="left" src="http://www.tennisone.com/images/photos/Ivanovic-forehand.jpg" width="179" height="205"/></a>This former World No. 1 has failed to live up to early expectations following her 2008 French Open title. Still, Ana Ivanovic's game is a pattern of solid strokes and aggressive strategies. An offensive baseline attacker, Ivanovic also possesses a big, if unsteady serve. Inspired by Monica Seles, Ivanovic makes her living on the baseline, slugging out flat forehands similar to Maria Sharapova and her backhand has become a consistent shot that sets her up to crack forehand winners. Although Ana has been showing signs of regaining her form, In recent years she has still been more likely to show up on the cover of a fashion magazine than hoisting a champion’s trophy...But I'm hoping she'll advance into the second week of Roland Garros...Go Ana!</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; font: 12px 16px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Posted by Steven White, Author of Bring Your Racquet</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; font: 12px 16px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </p>Tennis Season: A Monthly Review of 2010 (Part 4)tag:tennisopolis.com,2010-07-15:1869403:BlogPost:4230372010-07-15T23:53:52.000ZTennis Newshttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/TennisNews
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<div style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; padding-top: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><p>This comes from my personal blog at <a href="http://tennisnewsnow.wordpress.com/">http://tennisnewsnow.wordpress.com/</a></p>
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<p>This blog entry will include a full recap of Roland Garros and a quick review of the warm-up events that took place before The Championships at Wimbledon, which will be reviewed tomorrow or Saturday.</p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Roland Garros (French Open) in Paris, France (Red Clay)</span></p>
<p>Coming into Roland Garros, the men's tournament had one clear favorite while the women's tournament had many contenders, but no real favorite. Starting off with the women's event, I will touch on each of the top 5 seeds' draws and also mention other standout stars of the fortnight, concluding with a brief essay on the champion and finalist.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://tennisnewsnow.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/rolandgarros.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="320" height="320" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p>
<p>Coming into Roland Garros, you could have picked Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic, and maybe even Caroline Wozniacki as the favorites for the title. Others might say that Sam Stosur, who reached the semis last year and had the best clay record of the tour in 2010, could go all the way. But what would you have said about Italian Fed Cup hero Francesca Schiavone? Third round, maybe the fourth round, at the most she will go to the quarters. She surprised even the best of us.</p>
<p>Serena Williams played some mediocre tennis going into the second week, but by the time her fourth round match came around, she looked sharp and ready to make a title run in Paris. But in the quarterfinals, she faced the formidable Sam Stosur who had taken out Justine Henin in the previous round. After being behind for most of the match, Serena turned it around and built a lead in the final set, only to lose it 8-6 to the Aussie. On a lighter note, Serena was able to grab a title in Paris: the women's doubles crown with sister Venus.</p>
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<div class="mceTemp mceIEcenter" style="text-align: center;"><dl id="" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); text-align: center; background-color: rgb(243, 243, 243); padding-top: 4px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px 3px; width: 604px;">
<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><img src="http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/2010+French+Open+Day+Eleven+GVCaEvanVyyl.jpg" alt="" width="594" height="424" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-color: initial;"/></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;">Sam Stosur used her powerful serve to gain an advantage over Serena Williams at the French Open.</dd>
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<p>Venus Williams suffered a similar defeat in the fourth round to streaky Russian Nadia Petrova, who used the slow conditions on a cold Sunday in Paris to finish off her American foe quite easily. Coming into the event, Venus had won a title on clay in Acapulco and reached the quarterfinals in Rome and the finals in Madrid, so she looked like she could have gone all the way to the finals. But, it wasn't meant to be as she took yet another early defeat at the French Open.</p>
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<div class="mceTemp mceIEcenter" style="text-align: center;"><dl id="" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); text-align: center; background-color: rgb(243, 243, 243); padding-top: 4px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px 3px; width: 604px;">
<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><img src="http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/2010+French+Open+Day+Eight+0Ffu93goMVgl.jpg" alt="" width="594" height="408" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-color: initial;"/></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;">Venus Williams lost to Nadia Petrova in the 4th round.</dd>
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<p>Caroline Wozniacki looked to be in fine form as she played her way into the quarterfinals where she faced the crafty Italian Francesca Schiavone. In this match, the Dane was pushed around the court by Schiavone's all-court topspin oriented game and it really wasn't a contest from the beginning.</p>
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<div class="mceTemp mceIEcenter" style="text-align: center;"><dl id="" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); text-align: center; background-color: rgb(243, 243, 243); padding-top: 4px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px 3px; width: 604px;">
<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><img src="http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/2010+French+Open+Day+Ten+ieX1PNwFFlil.jpg" alt="" width="594" height="396" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-color: initial;"/></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;">This photo sums up Wozniacki's day at the office against Schiavone.</dd>
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<p>Jelena Jankovic had been playing some of the tennis that saw her reach a U.S. Open final and the World No. 1 ranking on her way to the semifinals and it finally looked like she was going to win a major for the first time in her career. But she would have to wait for another major to come around because lost quite easily to Sam Stosur.</p>
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<div class="mceTemp mceIEcenter" style="text-align: center;"><dl id="" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); text-align: center; background-color: rgb(243, 243, 243); padding-top: 4px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px 3px; width: 406px;">
<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><img src="http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/2010+French+Open+Day+Twelve+_QHA-o-omAYl.jpg" alt="" width="396" height="594" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-color: initial;"/></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;">Jelena Jankovic walked off the court knowing that she let a major career opportunity slip away from her.</dd>
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<p>Finally, Elena Dementieva made it to the semis here for the second time in here career and after losing a tight first set to Schiavone in the semis, she walked up to her opponent and shook hands with her, signalling that the match was over due to injury on Elena's behalf. We later learned that she had torn a calf muscle in the second round and had been struggling ever since. We haven't seen her since, so it must have been very serious.</p>
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<div class="mceTemp mceIEcenter" style="text-align: center;"><dl id="" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); text-align: center; background-color: rgb(243, 243, 243); padding-top: 4px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px 3px; width: 433px;">
<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><img src="http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/2010+French+Open+Day+Twelve+78BYs8fM5aOl.jpg" alt="" width="423" height="594" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-color: initial;"/></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;">Elena Dementieva spoke to the press in detail about her injury following her retirement.</dd>
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<p>In the finals, it was Sam Stosur against Francesca Schiavone. They were both first time Grand Slam finalists, but the nerves certainly didn't show that. Both women brought their best tennis, with Schiavone simply outclassing the Australian in the championship match. But, unlike so many of the finals at Roland Garros in the recent years (Henin standing a combined 48 games-17 games in championship matches , Ivanovic easily beating Safina in the 2008 final, and Kuznetsova beating Safina 6-4, 6-2 in 2009) it was very nice to see two women play their best tennis and make it a competitive match, with Schiavone prevailing 6-4, 7-6.</p>
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<div class="mceTemp mceIEcenter" style="text-align: center;"><dl id="" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); text-align: center; background-color: rgb(243, 243, 243); padding-top: 4px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px 3px; width: 405px;">
<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><img src="http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/bg/Schiavone+wins+the+tournament+JELFsULNgoel.jpg?69644EM_SCHIAVONE_B-GR_01" alt="" width="395" height="594" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-color: initial;"/></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;">Francesca Schiavone felt like she was on top of the world after capturing her first Grand Slam title.</dd>
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<p>In the men's tournament, there were few surprises until the quarterfinals, where all the action really began. Starting at the top of the draw, Roger Federer took on last year's finalist Robin Soderling. After taking the first set over the Swede, Federer went on to drop the next three sets to subsequently lose the match and his streak of 23 consecutive semifinals in a major. This was also the first time that Federer had lost to Soderling.</p>
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<div class="mceTemp mceIEcenter" style="text-align: center;"><dl id="" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); text-align: center; background-color: rgb(243, 243, 243); padding-top: 4px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px 3px; width: 604px;">
<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><img class="" src="http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/2010+French+Open+Day+Ten+6Iy6KA2xRcfl.jpg" alt="" width="594" height="397" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-color: initial;"/></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;">Federer left the main court of a Slam before the semifinals for the first time since the 2004 French Open.</dd>
</dl>
</div>
<p></p>
<p>In another quarterfinal of note, the Austrian Jurgen Melzer was 2 sets to love down against Novak Djokovic before capitalizing on the Serb's poor play to book a spot in the semifinals for the first time in his career. This also sparked him to play much better tennis at the season's next major, Wimbledon, where he reached the singles fourth round and won the doubles.</p>
<p></p>
<div class="mceTemp mceIEcenter" style="text-align: center;"><dl id="" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); text-align: center; background-color: rgb(243, 243, 243); padding-top: 4px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px 3px; width: 604px;">
<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><img src="http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/2010+French+Open+Day+Eleven+WAWxBx2QOw2l.jpg" alt="" width="594" height="424" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-color: initial;"/></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;">Although it was Melzer who won, Novak Djokovic received more attention for his poor effort in the final sets of the match.</dd>
</dl>
</div>
<p></p>
<p>Also to be noted, Rafael Nadal faced his hardest test against his fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, who pushed him to two tiebreaker sets and made the 4-time champ look vulnerable at times. But, it was Nadal who prevailed over his hard-hitting compatriot.</p>
<p>In the semifinals, Nadal had a straight forward win over Melzer to put him in yet another final at Roland Garros. But, the other semifinal Tomas Berdych, a first time Slam semifinalist, and last year's finalist Soderling took shape to be a tight and intriguing 5-set battle. In the end, it was the experience of Soderling that got him through to the final over a visibly tight Berdych. Luckily, this wasn't the last we would see of Berdych (see tomorrow's blog for Wimbledon).</p>
<p></p>
<div class="mceTemp mceIEcenter" style="text-align: center;"><dl id="" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); text-align: center; background-color: rgb(243, 243, 243); padding-top: 4px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px 3px; width: 604px;">
<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><img src="http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/2010+French+Open+Day+Thirteen+ab2wHdlhMgGl.jpg" alt="" width="594" height="396" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-color: initial;"/></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;">Even though Berdych lost in the semifinals, it was the start of good things to come as he went on to reach the Wimbledon final several weeks later.</dd>
</dl>
</div>
<p></p>
<p>This set up a very interesting final between two men who don't have a lot of love between them. Nadal had every reason to be confident going into the match as he was a former champion at Roland Garros and his clay court credentials top every single man to ever play the sport, but there was still a tinge of nerves. This can mainly be attributed to the fact that in 2009, Soderling became the one and only man to be Nadal at the French Open and did it in convincing style, by pounding ball after ball and serve after serve. But in this case it was Soderling who seemed to have trouble rising to the occasion and couldn't make it a competitive match against Nadal. The good news for Nadal: a fifth Roland Garros title, a seventh Grand Slam title, and the No. 1 ranking. What a deal!</p>
<p></p>
<div class="mceTemp mceIEcenter" style="text-align: center;"><dl id="" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); text-align: center; background-color: rgb(243, 243, 243); padding-top: 4px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px 3px; width: 419px;">
<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><img src="http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/bg/Nadal+s+fifth+victory+d-09g1dC_aYl.jpg?69679EM_NADAL_B-GR_02" alt="" width="409" height="594" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-color: initial;"/></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;">Much like Francesca Schiavone was the day before, Rafael Nadal was ecstatic about his Roland Garros title.</dd>
</dl>
</div>
<p></p>
<p>Now for a quick recap of the grass court events leading up to Wimbledon.</p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">AEGON Classic in Birmingham, GBR (Grass)</span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Champion:</span> Li Na def. Maria Sharapova 7-6, 6-1</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter" src="http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/AEGON+Classic+Day+Seven+5iWt301j8Dil.jpg" alt="" width="594" height="392" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">AEGON INTERNATIONAL in Eastbourne, GBR (Grass)</span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Champions:</span> Ekaterina Makarova def. Victoria Azarenka 7-6, 6-4</p>
<p>Michael Llodra def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-5, 6-2</p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">AEGON Championships in London, GBR (Grass)</span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Champion:</span> Sam Querrey def. Mardy Fish 7-6, 7-5</p>
<p></p>
<div class="mceTemp mceIEcenter" style="text-align: center;"><dl id="" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); text-align: center; background-color: rgb(243, 243, 243); padding-top: 4px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; border-top-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px 3px; width: 604px;">
<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><img src="http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/AEGON+Championship+Day+Seven+pn4uUNBWv5Gl.jpg" alt="" width="594" height="396" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-color: initial;"/></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;">It wouldn't be a tournament in England without some rain to worry about. Luckily, it didn't get in the way of Sam Querrey winning the biggest title of his career.</dd>
</dl>
</div>
<p></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Gerry Weber Open in Halle, GER (Grass)</span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Champion:</span> Lleyton Hewitt def. Roger Federer 3-6, 7-6, 6-4</p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">*This was the first win for Lleyton Hewitt over Federer in 15 tries. The last win for Hewitt came in a Davis Cup semifinal back in 2003.</span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">UNICEF Open in Rosmalen, Holland (Grass)</span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Champions:</span> Justine Henin def. Andrea Petkovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-4</p>
<p>Sergiy Stakhovsky def. Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-0</p>
<p>Thank you to all that read the entry on my blog. You are what makes this possible so join me again tomorrow for the extensive review of Wimbledon!</p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Upcoming Entries:</span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Fri./Sat.</span>- Wimbledon in Review</p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Next week:</span> Players to watch in the U.S. Open Series (don't forget to vote in the polls I set up a few days ago for your opinions on the U.S. Open Series)</p>
<p>I will also preview the Atlanta Tennis Championships sometime late next week. Stay tuned as always and once again, thank you for reading.</p>
</div>2010 French Open - Day 10 Predictionstag:tennisopolis.com,2010-06-01:1869403:BlogPost:4067402010-06-01T11:52:21.000ZTennisEarthhttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/TennisEarth839
<div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-TOP: 10px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; COLOR: #004bad; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f1f1f1">The surprising exit of Justine Henin has started speculations about the possible shocks in the upcoming clashes. Day 9 brings big names like Roger Federer, Caroline Wozniacki and Elena Dementieva on court with a hope to see them live upto the expectations. Will Day 10 bring another upset? Read on to find…</div>
<div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-TOP: 10px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; COLOR: #004bad; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f1f1f1">The surprising exit of Justine Henin has started speculations about the possible shocks in the upcoming clashes. Day 9 brings big names like Roger Federer, Caroline Wozniacki and Elena Dementieva on court with a hope to see them live upto the expectations. Will Day 10 bring another upset? Read on to find out....!</div>
<p class="news-body">Follow the Swashbuckling action at Roland Garros with TennisEarth.com and <a href="http://www.tennisearth.com/tournament/Roland-Garros-100.htm" target="_blank">get the minute by minute updates of the French Open</a></p>
<p class="news-body">The quarterfinal stage is set at the 2010 French Open with a few surprise entries in names like Mikhail Youzhny, Jurgen Melzer and Yaroslava Shvedova, who are enjoying the best run at a major tournament. What's in store for us fans today, let's find out with TennisEarth.com's predictions -</p>
<p class="news-body"><strong>Roger Federer vs. Robin Soderling -</strong></p>
<p class="news-body"><img title="Roger Federer" style="BORDER-RIGHT: black 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: black 1px solid; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 2px 3px; BORDER-LEFT: black 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px solid" height="225" alt="" src="http://www.tennisearth.com/photos/FrenchOpen/Roger_Federer6.jpg" width="185"/>The most anticipated clash in the top half of the men's draw gives the fans an opportunity to re-visit the drama of the 2009 French Open final between Roger Federer and Robin Soderling. The Swede dethroned Rafael Nadal to continue his magical run last year and lost to Federer in three gruelling sets. Ever since, Soderling has been in impressive form with wins over Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and the likes. Federer, the defending champion, on the other hand, returns to the historic clay with a dream to keep the winner's trophy in his personal collection. Both Soderling and Federer have struggled during the European claycourt season. Where Federer lost to Nadal in..........................</p>
<p class="news-body"></p>
<p class="news-body"><a href="http://www.tennisearth.com/news/showFullNews/2010-French-Open---Day-10-Predictions-546755.htm">Read complete preview, click here...!</a></p>Clay bunnies come out to play!tag:tennisopolis.com,2010-05-22:1869403:BlogPost:4040642010-05-22T01:50:09.000Ztennischickhttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/tennischick
<a href="http://view.picapp.com/default.aspx?term=roland%20garros&amp;iid=8878905" target="_blank"><img alt="2010 French Open Roland Garros" border="0" height="750" src="http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/c/0/7/6/2010_French_Open_4cd5.jpg?adImageId=12943806&amp;imageId=8878905" width="500"></img></a> <br></br>
<br></br>This is probably my favorite time of year. I’m hedging only because I am a woman inclined to throw herself into passions and I can already imagine myself making the same claim at the start of the US Open. And yet I am not being a dilettante or dishonest in this claim. I truly love this time of year...<br></br><br></br>But most of all I love this time of year because it’s the…
<a href="http://view.picapp.com/default.aspx?term=roland%20garros&amp;iid=8878905" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/c/0/7/6/2010_French_Open_4cd5.jpg?adImageId=12943806&amp;imageId=8878905" alt="2010 French Open Roland Garros" width="500" border="0" height="750"/></a><br/>
<br/>This is probably my favorite time of year. I’m hedging only because I am a woman inclined to throw herself into passions and I can already imagine myself making the same claim at the start of the US Open. And yet I am not being a dilettante or dishonest in this claim. I truly love this time of year...<br/><br/>But most of all I love this time of year because it’s the culmination of the professional clay season. It’s time for my favorite Slam, the great equalizer, the one that makes boys of men. It’s time for Roland Garros. It’s when clay bunnies come out to play.<br/><br/>Go <a href="http://www.tennischick.net/2010/05/clay-bunnies-come-out-to-play.html">here</a> for the rest of this entry, and thanks as ever for reading my blog.<br/><br/>Nadal cites fitness as reason for Barcelona withdrawaltag:tennisopolis.com,2010-04-21:1869403:BlogPost:3988952010-04-21T11:41:49.000ZTennisEarthhttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/TennisEarth839
<p></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="WORD-SPACING: 0px; FONT: 12px Tahoma, Geneva, Arial, 'Arial Narrow', Verdana, sans-serif; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); TEXT-INDENT: 0px; WHITE-SPACE: normal; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; orphans: 2; widows: 2; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="COLOR: rgb(0,75,173); TEXT-ALIGN: left">Determined, not to repeat his mistakes from the 2009 season, Mallorcan Rafael Nadal makes an attempt to keep himself fit for the big and mandatory events during the European claycourt season.</span></span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="WORD-SPACING: 0px; FONT: 12px Tahoma, Geneva, Arial, 'Arial Narrow', Verdana, sans-serif; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); TEXT-INDENT: 0px; WHITE-SPACE: normal; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; orphans: 2; widows: 2; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="COLOR: rgb(0,75,173); TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="WORD-SPACING: 0px; FONT: 12px Tahoma, Geneva, Arial, 'Arial Narrow', Verdana, sans-serif; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); TEXT-INDENT: 0px; WHITE-SPACE: normal; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; orphans: 2; widows: 2; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="COLOR: rgb(51,51,51); LINE-HEIGHT: 18px; TEXT-ALIGN: left">Five-time defending champion Rafael Nadal of Spain said that he wanted to rest his knees and explained his decision to withdraw from the 2010 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell.....</span></span></span></span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="WORD-SPACING: 0px; FONT: 12px Tahoma, Geneva, Arial, 'Arial Narrow', Verdana, sans-serif; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); TEXT-INDENT: 0px; WHITE-SPACE: normal; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; orphans: 2; widows: 2; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="COLOR: rgb(0,75,173); TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="WORD-SPACING: 0px; FONT: 12px Tahoma, Geneva, Arial, 'Arial Narrow', Verdana, sans-serif; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); TEXT-INDENT: 0px; WHITE-SPACE: normal; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; orphans: 2; widows: 2; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="COLOR: rgb(51,51,51); LINE-HEIGHT: 18px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://www.tennisearth.com/news/tennisNews/Nadal-cites-fitness-as-reason-for-Barcelona-withdrawal-196767.htm">Read complete news, click here.</a></span></span></span></span></p>Federer-mania leaves premiere Tennis site strugglingtag:tennisopolis.com,2009-06-07:1869403:BlogPost:3266132009-06-07T11:36:50.000ZRohit Sharmahttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/RohitSharma
Roger Federer is standing on the verge of creating a history as a win over Robin Soderling today will confirm his status as a 'Legend' in the tennis history books.<br />
<br />
Now that he is into the finals, the equations have all changed but ironically, just a month ago he was totally written off as someone who may never win a slam again, or that he is past his prime. Ofcourse, there were a few exceptions too in some firm believers of Federer's talent and charisma. The other day I came across this really…
Roger Federer is standing on the verge of creating a history as a win over Robin Soderling today will confirm his status as a 'Legend' in the tennis history books.<br />
<br />
Now that he is into the finals, the equations have all changed but ironically, just a month ago he was totally written off as someone who may never win a slam again, or that he is past his prime. Ofcourse, there were a few exceptions too in some firm believers of Federer's talent and charisma. The other day I came across this really nice article - <a href="http://www.tennisearth.com/news/tennisNews/The_AGONY_and_ECSTASY_of_Roger_Federer_981649.htm">The Agony and Ecstasy of Roger Federer</a> about how Federer still has some gas left in the tank to pull off another Grand Slam or two to say the least..!<br />
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The drama actually started with <a href="http://www.tennisearth.com/commentary/Australian-Open_Mens-Singles_Final_Nadal_Federer_295905.htm">Federer's loss in the finals of Australian Open</a> when he lost to arch nemesis Rafael Nadal in five tough sets. His emotional meltdown in front on millions left the tennis world wondering whether he is capable of winning big matches at grand stages or not..........<br />
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His subsequent <a href="http://www.tennisearth.com/commentary/International-BNL-dItali_Mens-Singles_SF_Djokovic_Federer_298986.htm">losses to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of Miami Masters</a> and Andy Murray in Indian Wells left everyone wondering about the Swiss star's calibre to get past the young guns of the tennis world.<br />
<br />
However, the 2009 French Open has apparently brought the best out of the Swiss star. His road to the finals has been nothing less than a herculean task, which he duly finished. Federer survived the <a href="http://www.tennisearth.com/commentary/Roland-Garros_Mens-Singles_R64_Acasuso_Federer_299820.htm">second round scare against Jose Acasuso</a> just to prepare himself for the next big one.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tennisearth.com/commentary/Roland-Garros_Mens-Singles_R16_Haas_Federer_300027.htm">His match against Tommy Haas</a> is one of the best performances the tennis world have seen from Roger in the past few years.<br />
<br />
After initial struggle from Monfils, Federer was able to dash the hopes of home crowd by beating Monfils and then there was this <a href="http://www.tennisearth.com/commentary/Roland-Garros_Mens-Singles_SF_Delpotro_Federer_300056.htm">superb semifinal against Juan Martin Del Potro</a> who not only brought the Argentine tumbling down but also some Tennis pro like Tennisearth.com, the only site that gives live point by point description of major matches and superb technical analysis.<br />
<br />
Perhaps it was the Federer-mania that brought Tennisearth.com down.<br />
<br />
So far, two of his <a href="http://www.tennisearth.com/commentary/Roland-Garros_Mens-Singles_R32_Mathieu_Federer_299987.htm">matches against Frenchmen Paul-Henri Mathieu</a> and Gael Monfils have been the most impressive and dominant victories in the draw so far. The <a href="http://www.tennisearth.com/commentary/Roland-Garros_Mens-Singles_QF_Monfils_Federer_300047.htm">straight sets routing of Gael Monfils</a> not only proved his edge over young blood but also confirmed the fact that Federer is here to stay.<br />
<br />
<b>No matter what happens in the French Open final,Federer's greatness will always remain intact in our heart.....!</b>SUPER SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIPtag:tennisopolis.com,2009-06-07:1869403:BlogPost:3265392009-06-07T03:44:43.000ZFreakyFriteshttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/FreakyFrites
<p style="text-align: left;"><img alt="" height="456" src="http://api.ning.com/files/nVlQ8k2J*ESiz0*kYel3JKw7WIZ5lyHvMuM9NYFGCrGSNz1eQUoVu-bYAp5KjA*uFgW6t*aqro4l2RcErrvzU2V36YNAvrlr/svetlana_kuznetsova_french_open.jpg" width="400"></img></p>
<br />
ORIGINAL POST: <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/06/06/french-open-super-svetlana-kuznetsova-wins-the-championship/">http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/06/06/french-open-super-svetlana-kuznetsova-wins-the-championship/</a><br />
<br />
“I’m sorry I played better than you.” Svetlana Kuznetsova told Dinara Safina on the awards podium today after beating her 6-4, 6-2 in the French Open final. It may have come out wrong, but I think Kuzy summed it up…
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/nVlQ8k2J*ESiz0*kYel3JKw7WIZ5lyHvMuM9NYFGCrGSNz1eQUoVu-bYAp5KjA*uFgW6t*aqro4l2RcErrvzU2V36YNAvrlr/svetlana_kuznetsova_french_open.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="456"/></p>
<br />
ORIGINAL POST: <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/06/06/french-open-super-svetlana-kuznetsova-wins-the-championship/">http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/06/06/french-open-super-svetlana-kuznetsova-wins-the-championship/</a><br />
<br />
“I’m sorry I played better than you.” Svetlana Kuznetsova told Dinara Safina on the awards podium today after beating her 6-4, 6-2 in the French Open final. It may have come out wrong, but I think Kuzy summed it up best.<br />
<br />
Forget the Safina Show for a second (the “Battle of the Real No. 1s”, the famous big brother, the too-intense coach) and say it with me: Svetlana Kuznetsova played awesome tennis today and all-tournament long.<br />
<br />
She demonstrated in the quarters that she could out-hit and out-fight Serena Williams. She showed in the semis that she could handle the pressure against a game challenger, Sam Stosur. And today in the final, she proved that she is more talented and more mature than No. 1 ranked Dinara Safina.<br />
<br />
I watched her today and thought: wow, what a forehand, what great movement, what impressive variety. She met Safina’s power and flummoxed her with net play, drop shots and mental toughness.<br />
<br />
There’s a reason Roger Federer has called her his favorite female player. I’ve always enjoyed her game, too, but was confused that she couldn’t put it together. As Mary Carillo said before the tournament: “I keep waiting for her to decide for herself. . .what kind of tennis player she wants to be.”<br />
<br />
Kuzy’s made her choice. Svetlana Kuznetsova is going to be a super talented, super dedicated and super match tough super woman. Oh, and she’s also super nice and super funny, but these two qualities were never in doubt.<br />
<br />
In her post-match press conference she mentioned talking to Roger Federer at the Olympics last year, and asking him for advice on how to move forward in her career. She took his words to heart: “You can only depend on yourself.”<br />
<br />
Which brings us to Dinara Safina, the woman who can’t depend on herself. It was painful watching her beg Big Bad Boss-Daddy, Zeljko Krajan, for help during this match. No, she wasn’t asking for tactical advice (though I do wish she’d received a warning from the umpire - it might have helped her!) But there’s no doubt she needed her coach in an immediate, visceral way.<br />
<br />
“Why am I such a chicken?” she asked him during the second set.<br />
<br />
If only Marat had been in the stands, instead of that glowering coach of hers. She would have looked up at her impassive, unimpressed brother and got the answer she needed: “I’m not a chicken, I’m Dinara Safina.“<br />
<br />
So while we still don’t know who the “Real No. 1″ is, we do know who it isn’t. A real champion believes in herself, and doesn’t need anyone (except maybe Roger Federer) to tell her how it’s done.<br />
<br />
Congrats, Sveta!<br />
Svetlana “Super Fly” Kuznetsova! Photo by REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE SPORT TENNIS IMAGES OF THE DAY) via Daylife.<br />
<br />
ORIGINAL POST: <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/">via GOTOTENNIS</a>French Open Semifinal day Live match commentary on TennisEarth.comtag:tennisopolis.com,2009-06-05:1869403:BlogPost:3185812009-06-05T09:30:00.000ZRohit Sharmahttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/RohitSharma
Enjoy the point by point commentary of the semifinal action from Rolnd Garros, on tennisearth.com<br />
<br />
Enjoy <a href="http://www.tennisearth.com/commentary/Roland-Garros_Mens-Singles_SF_Delpotro_Federer_300056.htm">Federer vs. Juan Martin Del Potro</a><br />
<br />
and<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tennisearth.com/commentary/Roland-Garros_Mens-Singles_SF_Soderling_Gonzalez_300052.htm">Robin Soderling vs. Fernando Gonzalez</a>
Enjoy the point by point commentary of the semifinal action from Rolnd Garros, on tennisearth.com<br />
<br />
Enjoy <a href="http://www.tennisearth.com/commentary/Roland-Garros_Mens-Singles_SF_Delpotro_Federer_300056.htm">Federer vs. Juan Martin Del Potro</a><br />
<br />
and<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tennisearth.com/commentary/Roland-Garros_Mens-Singles_SF_Soderling_Gonzalez_300052.htm">Robin Soderling vs. Fernando Gonzalez</a>FRENCH OPEN WRAP DAY 2: FEDERER IN LOVE, NADAL IN PINK, SHARAPOVA IN PLAYtag:tennisopolis.com,2009-05-27:1869403:BlogPost:3124942009-05-27T04:11:52.000ZFreakyFriteshttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/FreakyFrites
Via GOTOTENNIS: <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/25/french-open-wrap-day-2-federer-in-love-nadal-in-pink-sharapova-in-play/">http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/25/french-open-wrap-day-2-federer-in-love-nadal-in-pink-sharapova-in-play/</a><br />
<br />
There was loads of action at Roland Garros on Monday, with the likes of Federer, Nadal, Roddick, Venus Williams, and Sharapova all hitting the red dirt in Paris. We now have loads to talk about - fashion, new drinking games, and a contender…
Via GOTOTENNIS: <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/25/french-open-wrap-day-2-federer-in-love-nadal-in-pink-sharapova-in-play/">http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/25/french-open-wrap-day-2-federer-in-love-nadal-in-pink-sharapova-in-play/</a><br />
<br />
There was loads of action at Roland Garros on Monday, with the likes of Federer, Nadal, Roddick, Venus Williams, and Sharapova all hitting the red dirt in Paris. We now have loads to talk about - fashion, new drinking games, and a contender for Dumbest Press Conference Question of the tournament. Oh, and tennis, of course! Here goes:<br />
<br />
Rafael Nadal beat a game Brazilian veteran, Marcos Daniel, in his first round match: 7‑5, 6‑4, 6‑3. It was a tough match, despite the scoreline - Rafa was broken three times. Maybe he was nervous about breaking yet another record - this time for consecutive Roland Garros victories. He bested the men’s record of 28 straight, set by Bjorn Borg between 1978-81. He needs one more to beat Chris Evert’s all-time RG streak of 29. (Maybe that’s why Chris Evert cries when Federer loses?)<br />
<br />
I was crying, looking at Rafa in this 80’s-inspired mess:<br />
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/rafael_nadal_french_open1.jpg"/></p>
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TENNIS-FRA-OPEN-ROLAND-GARROS<br />
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Rafa defends himself:<br />
<br />
Q. This question is not about the game. It’s about your dress. You are in pink today. Why are you in pink today?<br />
<br />
RAFAEL NADAL: I don’t know. Yeah, same like always, why I was (in) white and yellow two weeks ago. Because it’s better than dressing (in) the same color every week, no?<br />
<br />
No it isn’t Rafa, not when you’re dressed like an extra in Miami Vice. My eyes still hurt.<br />
<br />
Roger Federer took the court right after Nadal today, and beat Spanish journeyman, Alberto Martin, in straights. He used the drop shot at every opportunity, even on match point. Here’s what he had to say about his budding love affair with the dropper:<br />
<br />
ROGER FEDERER: “I’m happy I got to learn how to use it (the dropshot) over the years. I used to not be a fan of the dropshot at all. I always thought it was a shot you only hit when you’re panicking from the baseline, when you’re scared maybe to take on the fight, you know. . .I realized that actually you can use it to your advantage against players like today. It just makes it a little bit more easy.”<br />
<br />
Click here if you haven’t checked out Federer’s post-match interview with Tennis Channel.<br />
<br />
Broadcast note: I have a new drinking game for Tennis Channel viewers - take a chug every time Ted Robinson makes a baseball reference. You’ll be drunk by the fourth game of the opening match.<br />
<br />
Dinara Safina was first up on Court Philippe Chatrier, and treated her opponent to brunch: serving Anne Keothavong two bagels. It was nice to hear the normally self-deprecating Safina admit to feeling great on court: “I started to play, and I started to feel good. I felt very good on the court, and I think I played a solid game.”<br />
<br />
Venus Williams beat fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in three sets today: 6‑1, 4‑6, 6‑2. As Martina Navratilova mentioned, Venus has been giving away lots of second sets lately, so it’s hard to read too much into this particular scoreline. What fascinated me was Venus’s new dress, which was absolutely gorgeous. I loved the bright African print in the skirt (at least I think it’s African - any textile experts in the house?)<br />
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/venus_williams_french_open.jpg"/></p>
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FRANCE TENNIS FRENCH OPEN<br />
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The Williams sisters are playing doubles together in Roland Garros. Venus mentioned in her post-match press conference that their love of doubles may keep them from playing the Fed Cup final:<br />
<br />
VENUS WILLIAMS: We both really want to play (Fed Cup), but once we give our word we want to keep it. It’s just important for us to make sure it’s something we can do. Being at the end of the season is tough, and we both obviously expect to be playing in the (year end) championships, too. By that time, it’s even tougher. I mean, we hope to qualify for the doubles championships, too, actually.<br />
<br />
Maybe we won’t need the Williams sisters in Italy - the young American, Alexa Glatch, took out No. 14 seed, Flavia Pennetta, 6-1, 6-1.<br />
<br />
Maria Sharapova didn’t have as easy a time in her first round match against Anastasiya Yakimova, which she won in three sets. But she showed world class fight as always. Here she is explaining how and why she fought through her injury:<br />
<br />
Q. You’re known as a fighter. It’s practically attached to your name. How difficult was it to encounter a situation (injury) where really fighting did not help?<br />
<br />
MARIA “Pitbull” SHARAPOVA: To be honest, it really did. I think if I was ‑‑ if I was a mentally weak person or individual, I think I wouldn’t be here today. I’d be on some island. I mean, sounds good to me, probably sounds good to everyone in this room. You know, with a nice cold Pina Colada and a nice cold towel they hand around at the pools.<br />
<br />
But I love being here, and there’s no better feeling than waving to the crowd after you’ve won. There’s no better feeling than going on court when they call your name, and, you know, there’s a job in front of you and, you know, especially in these days, to know that you have an opportunity to go out and play and have a job.<br />
<br />
Too bad Maria didn’t win any fashion points today. Is this a nightgown, an ice skating outfit or a muumuu? I just can’t tell:<br />
<br />
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/maria_sharapova_french_open.jpg"/></p>
<br />
When I read that Andy Roddick hadn’t been past the first round of Roland Garros since 2005, I couldn’t believe it. But Wikipedia confirmed it, so it has to be true. But let’s face it, today’s opponent, Romain Jouan, was ranked 305 in the world and had a career ATP-level record of 1-1, so Roddick’s break-through win isn’t exactly a harbinger of great things to come. But it doesn’t hurt either.<br />
<br />
Roddick had this funny quip when asked why American’s don’t perform well on clay: “It’s amazing, because you never hear the story of a clay court specialist, ‘why don’t you prepare and play better on grass?’ I’ve never once read that story in my life.”<br />
<br />
Stanislas Wawrinka fielded the Dumbest Press Conference Question of the tournament (so far) after winning a tough five setter over Nicolas Devilder:<br />
<br />
Q. Hey, your nose is all burnt by the sun. You played without wearing a hat, without putting any cream on yourface, sunscreen. Is it important or isit something you don’t want to think about during the match?<br />
<br />
STANISLAS WAWRINKA: Having a red nose afterwards? Well, trust me, I know if I play for four hours in the sun, I know that I walk out with a red nose, whether I put some sunscreen or not. So it’s not a big problem. I’m used to it.<br />
<br />
I excuse the question if it was his mother or his dermatologist asking it.<br />
<br />
A down-and-dirty Tuesday preview: Jelena Jankovic is first up on Court Philippe Chatrier, followed by Djokovic/Lapentti (could be a battle), and Benneteau/Tsonga. Kuznetsova, Monfils (against Bobby Reynolds), Serena Williams, and Fabrice Santoro (playing his 20th, and last, RG) are on Lenglen. Also look out for del Potro/Llodra, the Williams sisters playing doubles and Baghdatis/Monaco, which is my match of the day.<br />
<br />
Via GOTOTENNIS: <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/25/french-open-wrap-day-2-federer-in-love-nadal-in-pink-sharapova-in-play/">http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/25/french-open-wrap-day-2-federer-in-love-nadal-in-pink-sharapova-in-play/</a>FRENCH OPEN: JO-WILFRIED TSONGA WANTS TO PLEASURE YOUtag:tennisopolis.com,2009-05-27:1869403:BlogPost:3124892009-05-27T04:00:07.000ZFreakyFriteshttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/FreakyFrites
<p style="text-align:center"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/jowilfried_tsonga_roland_garros.jpg"></img></p>
<br />
From GOTOTENNIS: <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/23/french-open-jo-wilfried-tsonga-wants-to-pleasure-you/">http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/23/french-open-jo-wilfried-tsonga-wants-to-pleasure-you/</a><br />
<br />
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the talented, charming and injury-prone Frenchman, has played in the French Open only once - way back in 2005. He’s making his long-overdue return to the terre battue this week, and with Gael Monfils injured…
<p style="text-align:center"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/jowilfried_tsonga_roland_garros.jpg"/></p>
<br />
From GOTOTENNIS: <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/23/french-open-jo-wilfried-tsonga-wants-to-pleasure-you/">http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/23/french-open-jo-wilfried-tsonga-wants-to-pleasure-you/</a><br />
<br />
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the talented, charming and injury-prone Frenchman, has played in the French Open only once - way back in 2005. He’s making his long-overdue return to the terre battue this week, and with Gael Monfils injured (really?) and Richard Gasquet suspended, the crowd is sure to hang their hopes on the hardcourt-suited Tsonga.<br />
<br />
Good thing Jo-Dub doesn’t mind the attention. In fact, he’s already planning a great big tennis orgy on Court Philippe Chatrier. Count me in, Jo! Here he is via Eurosport:<br />
<br />
“I have an incredible desire to play, a desire that transcends everything. I’m excited at the idea of going on the court and giving my all.”<br />
<br />
“It’s magic to know that whatever happens, people will be behind me. C’est magnifique. I don’t play tennis to fill my bank account but to fill the hearts of people.”<br />
<br />
“The goal is really to get pleasure and give pleasure to people who will come to see me. I want to do something great here (at Roland Garros). For me it’s a unique tournament. If I could bring a touch of Jo, that would be cool.<br />
<br />
“It would be fabulous to win a match in five sets. On center court, of course. At dusk. Anytime, really. Winning a match in five sets by doing something a little heroic, that would be top.”<br />
<br />
Mon dieu, that may be the sexiest tennis press conference of all time! Here’s hoping Jo-Wilfried keeps his promises. I’m definitely curious about this “touch of Jo” stuff.<br />
<br />
Tsonga will play countryman Julien Benneteau (blah! click here) in his first round. From there he’ll need all love the crowd can give him - his section of the draw includes Baghdatis, Monaco, del Potro and Djokovic. Bon courage, Jo!<br />
<br />
Quotes via Eurosport - my translation from French.<br />
Jo-Wilfried hopes to charm Roland Garros with his game and his smile. Photo FFT via rolandgarros.comFRENCH OPEN WRAP DAY 1: IVANOVIC SCRAPS, MAURSEMO CRAPS OUT, MURRAY IMPRESSEStag:tennisopolis.com,2009-05-27:1869403:BlogPost:3124912009-05-27T04:00:00.000ZFreakyFriteshttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/FreakyFrites
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/amelie_mauresmo_loses_french_open.jpg"></img></p>
<br />
From GOTOTENNIS: <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/24/french-open-wrap-day-1-ivanovic-scraps-maursemo-craps-out-murray-impresses/">http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/24/french-open-wrap-day-1-ivanovic-scraps-maursemo-craps-out-murray-impresses/</a><br />
<br />
FRENCH OPEN DAY 1: The brick orange clay, the renewed fire (and fear) in the players’ eyes, new drinking games based on Brad Gilbert-isms - what’s not to love about a Sunday start at Roland…
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/amelie_mauresmo_loses_french_open.jpg"/></p>
<br />
From GOTOTENNIS: <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/24/french-open-wrap-day-1-ivanovic-scraps-maursemo-craps-out-murray-impresses/">http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/24/french-open-wrap-day-1-ivanovic-scraps-maursemo-craps-out-murray-impresses/</a><br />
<br />
FRENCH OPEN DAY 1: The brick orange clay, the renewed fire (and fear) in the players’ eyes, new drinking games based on Brad Gilbert-isms - what’s not to love about a Sunday start at Roland Garros?<br />
<br />
Here are some random musings from the debut day on Paris clay:<br />
<br />
1. Sad face: 2004 champ Gaston Gaudio lost to Radek Stepanek. There goes my dream Gaudio/Nadal semi!<br />
<br />
2. Sadder face: Amelie Mauremo was bounced out in straights against German Anna-Lena Groenefeld. But don’t worry, Amelie fans, she’s still hopeful for Wimbledon (via L’Equipe):<br />
<br />
“It’s not terrible. It should not be exaggerated, there are things much worse. This is not pleasant. Simple as that. . . . Life goes on, the circuit continues and we will digest it quietly with a few days of rest. Then I’ll go to conditions that I like more.”<br />
<br />
3. Ana Ivanovic beat Sara Errani in straight sets: 7-6 (3), 6-3 but the match could have been a three set scrapper for all the confidence it inspired. Her forehand’s working but her ball toss weaves and bobs like a drunk at a wedding reception.<br />
<br />
4. When the World No. 3 beats someone ranked 180 places below him, does the win really qualify as a “tour de force“? The Times, U.K. thinks so.<br />
<br />
5. Then what do you call it when a scrappy American like Wayne Odesnik (#87) takes a top-ranked Frenchman like Gilles Simon (#7) to a fifth set on Court Philippe Chatrier? A “tour de balls“?<br />
<br />
6. Happy face: Darren Cahill is convinced that Marat Safin won’t retire in 2009. Super Coach said on ESPN today that he thinks Marat is working way too hard off-court to be seriously considering leaving the sport.<br />
<br />
7. Speaking of Darren Cahill, how is he going to man both the ESPN booth and the players’ box during the same tournament? His charge, Fernando Verdasco, will be keeping him busy. The Spaniard beat Florent Serra today in straights.<br />
<br />
8. Fernando Verdasco is hot:<br />
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/fernando_verdasco_hot_french_open.jpg"/></p>
<br />
FRANCE TENNIS FRENCH OPEN<br />
<br />
9. Roger Federer’s hotter:<br />
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/roger_federer_hot_french_open.jpg"/></p>
<br />
TENNIS-OPEN/<br />
<br />
10. Ivan Ljubicic answers the ultimate tennis-geek question, “who is the best chair umpire?”: “Mohamed Lahyani. You either love him or you hate him.”<br />
<br />
Put me in the love column! And be sure to check out more from the discerning Ljuby on the RG website (click here).<br />
<br />
11. Rafael Nadal is blogging again at the Times U.K. (click here). His first Roland Garros post promises. . .not very much:<br />
<br />
“I hope what I say is not taken too serious or too not serious. I am someone who doesn’t go too deep to talk about things openly. I can be very open with my team, with my family these weeks, but kind of reserved with the rest of the World.”<br />
<br />
Here’s Rafa vs. the rest of the World:<br />
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/rafael_nadal_autographs_french_open.jpg"/></p>
<br />
FRANCE TENNIS FRENCH OPEN<br />
<br />
12. Gael Monfils is fit to play the French Open, says his coach Roger Rasheed. As if we needed confirmation after seeing this photo from Saturday’s exhibition event:<br />
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/gael_monfils_jumps_french_open.jpg"/></p>
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TENNIS-FRA-OPEN-ROLAND-GARROS<br />
<br />
13. Advantage, Tennis Channel! I can’t get it in HD, and I’m not a huge fan of its second tier commentators, but TC scores big with Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe. Also, love that the channel shows the action live and unabridged (ESPN comes on later and about half its broadcast is on tape.)<br />
<br />
14: Speaking of watching tennis, here’s what’s on for Day 2: Safina, Nadal and Federer (in that order) in the main stadium and Venus Williams and Andy Roddick on Lenglen. Sharapova will play her first rounder in the Bullring. Interesting Day 2 matches include: Safarova vs. Lisicki, Bolelli vs. Berdych, Cibulkova vs. A. Bondarenko.<br />
<br />
Via GOTOTENNIS: <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/24/french-open-wrap-day-1-ivanovic-scraps-maursemo-craps-out-murray-impresses/">http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/24/french-open-wrap-day-1-ivanovic-scraps-maursemo-craps-out-murray-impresses/</a><br />
<br />
Amelie photo by REUTERS/Bogdan Cristel (FRANCE SPORT TENNIS IMAGES OF THE DAY) via Daylife<br />
Fernando “hot sauce” Verdasco by AP Photo/Laurent Baheux via Daylife<br />
Roger “hot man” Federer photo by REUTERS/Benoit Tessier (FRANCE SPORT TENNIS) via Daylife<br />
Rafa vs. World photo by AP Photo/Laurent Rebours via Daylife<br />
Monfils tests his knee photo by CYRIL CADET/AFP/Getty Images via Yahoo! Sports2009 ROLAND GARROS FRENCH OPEN TV SCHEDULEtag:tennisopolis.com,2009-05-23:1869403:BlogPost:3104232009-05-23T20:38:27.000ZFreakyFriteshttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/FreakyFrites
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/french-open-2009.jpg"/></p>
<br />
2009 ROLAND GARROS FRENCH OPEN TV SCHEDULE<br />
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We have the US, UK, Canada, and Australia French Open TV Schedule. Scroll down to find your listing.<br />
<br />
Read more: <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/19/2009-roland-garros-french-open-tv-schedule/">http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/19/2009-roland-garros-french-open-tv-schedule/</a>
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/french-open-2009.jpg"/></p>
<br />
2009 ROLAND GARROS FRENCH OPEN TV SCHEDULE<br />
<br />
We have the US, UK, Canada, and Australia French Open TV Schedule. Scroll down to find your listing.<br />
<br />
Read more: <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/19/2009-roland-garros-french-open-tv-schedule/">http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/19/2009-roland-garros-french-open-tv-schedule/</a>2009 FRENCH OPEN: MEN’S DRAW PREVIEWtag:tennisopolis.com,2009-05-23:1869403:BlogPost:3104212009-05-23T20:36:48.000ZFreakyFriteshttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/FreakyFrites
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/rafael_nadal_roland_garros_french_open_champ.jpg"></img></p>
<br />
If you filled in your Roland Garros drawsheets this morning, you probably had an easy time at the top of the men’s: Nadal, Nadal, Nadal, Nadal, Nadal, uh, Nadal.<br />
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There’s nothing for the 4-time champ (or Rafanatics) to lose sleep over, especially with clay-averse Andy Murray the big gun in his half. Rafa will shrug off Dr. Ivo or Hewitt in the 3rd round and get a workout against Ferrer in the 16s. Verdasco, Davydenko, Wawrinka and Almagro are top…
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/rafael_nadal_roland_garros_french_open_champ.jpg"/></p>
<br />
If you filled in your Roland Garros drawsheets this morning, you probably had an easy time at the top of the men’s: Nadal, Nadal, Nadal, Nadal, Nadal, uh, Nadal.<br />
<br />
There’s nothing for the 4-time champ (or Rafanatics) to lose sleep over, especially with clay-averse Andy Murray the big gun in his half. Rafa will shrug off Dr. Ivo or Hewitt in the 3rd round and get a workout against Ferrer in the 16s. Verdasco, Davydenko, Wawrinka and Almagro are top contenders to face him in the quarters. If Murray doesn’t make it through to the semis, Rafa’s possible opponents include Simon, Gonzo, Safin or Gaudio (who is 3-3 against Rafa on clay - HA!)<br />
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Federer and Djokovic are in the other half of the draw, and seem destined to meet in the semis. Del Potro or Monaco are Novak’s potential challengers in the quarters and Roddick, with a forgiving draw, could meet Federer in the other one. Roger will be looking out for Acasuso in the second round and Haas, Berdych, Blake or Chardy in the 16s.<br />
<br />
Read more: <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/22/2009-french-open-mens-draw-preview/">http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/22/2009-french-open-mens-draw-preview/</a>2009 FRENCH OPEN: WOMEN’S DRAW PREVIEWtag:tennisopolis.com,2009-05-23:1869403:BlogPost:3104192009-05-23T20:35:17.000ZFreakyFriteshttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/FreakyFrites
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/safina_ivanovic_french_open.jpg"></img></p>
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“If I continue like this I have a very good chance here (at Roland Garros).”<br />
<br />
No sh*t, Dinara! Safina has a 14-1 record on clay this season and the added confidence of being World No. 1 and last year’s runner up to the now-ailing Ana Ivanovic. Like Rafael Nadal on the men’s side, I had no trouble filling in Safina’s little section of the French Open draw.<br />
<br />
The rest gets messy.<br />
<br />
It’s going to be a battle to face Dinara in the top quarter, with Ana…
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/safina_ivanovic_french_open.jpg"/></p>
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“If I continue like this I have a very good chance here (at Roland Garros).”<br />
<br />
No sh*t, Dinara! Safina has a 14-1 record on clay this season and the added confidence of being World No. 1 and last year’s runner up to the now-ailing Ana Ivanovic. Like Rafael Nadal on the men’s side, I had no trouble filling in Safina’s little section of the French Open draw.<br />
<br />
The rest gets messy.<br />
<br />
It’s going to be a battle to face Dinara in the top quarter, with Ana Ivanovic, Victoria Azarenka, and Carla Suarez Navarro all good contenders.<br />
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It will be a knock-down, all-out BRAWL to be Safina’s semifinal opponent. I count at least ELEVEN players with a decent chance of making it through the second quarter. Speaking of eleven, Venus Williams is one of the top seeds in this section, as is Vera Zvonareva, who is coming off of a bad ankle injury. Petrova, Alona Bondarenko, Lisicki, Safarova, Dulko, Mauresmo, Li Na, Cibulkova and Szavay are all in the mix. I didn’t even count Maria Sharapova. Sharpen those nails, girls!<br />
<br />
The bottom half of the draw is slightly less turbulent, with Jankovic and Dementieva the top seeds in the third quarter (we’ll see what Wozniacki has to say about that) and Serena and Kuznetsova anchoring the bottom. Clay-court mavens Schiavone, Schnyder and Pennetta could cause some trouble in this half, too.<br />
<br />
Here’s the breakdown:<br />
<br />
READ MORE: <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/22/2009-french-open-womens-draw-preview/">http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/22/2009-french-open-womens-draw-preview/</a>FRENCH OPEN: MADRID WIN “BODES WELL” FOR ROGER FEDERERtag:tennisopolis.com,2009-05-21:1869403:BlogPost:3093042009-05-21T06:24:16.000ZFreakyFriteshttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/FreakyFrites
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/nadal_federer_madrid.jpg"></img></p>
<br />
<b>*INTERVIEW BY FREAKYFRITES WITH PATRICK MCENROE + MARY CARILLO</b><br />
<br />
via <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com">GOTOTENNIS</a><br />
<br />
Mary Carillo and Patrick McEnroe, who will be anchoring ESPN’s French Open commentary team at Roland Garros next week, took time to chat with reporters (and me) about the upcoming action on the terre battue. Here’s some of what they had to say about Nadal, Federer and the rest of the field:<br />
Nadal will be “raring to…
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/nadal_federer_madrid.jpg"/></p>
<br />
<b>*INTERVIEW BY FREAKYFRITES WITH PATRICK MCENROE + MARY CARILLO</b><br />
<br />
via <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com">GOTOTENNIS</a><br />
<br />
Mary Carillo and Patrick McEnroe, who will be anchoring ESPN’s French Open commentary team at Roland Garros next week, took time to chat with reporters (and me) about the upcoming action on the terre battue. Here’s some of what they had to say about Nadal, Federer and the rest of the field:<br />
Nadal will be “raring to go”<br />
<br />
McEnroe says Rafael Nadal is the obvious and overwhelming favorite, despite a grueling hard court season and his recent loss to Federer in Madrid.<br />
<br />
“He’s more devastating on clay than he’s ever been” McEnroe said of the four time champion. “And this is what separates Nadal from the other clay court players – as he’s gotten better on the other surfaces he’s gotten better on clay. He’s more aggressive, he hits his backhand better, his serve is better. . .He’ll be raring to go in Paris. It will take the most Herculean effort for someone to beat him.”<br />
“If Federer couldn’t win in Madrid, he might as well not even show up in Paris.”<br />
<br />
Though McEnroe was doubtful about Federer’s chances in the Paris final, he said Roger’s victory over Rafael Nadal in the Madrid final could help him in the long run.<br />
<br />
“It helps Roger a heck of a lot more than it hurts Rafa,” McEnroe said of the outcome. “Before Madrid, I was wondering if Roger could keep that record of (19) consecutive semi-finals going. . .I don’t think (the loss) will effect Rafa at all, but it bodes well for Roger at the French and even more so at Wimbledon.”<br />
<br />
“If Federer couldn’t win that final in Madrid, he might as well not even show up in Paris, in terms of his chances at Roland Garros.” McEnroe said, adding that “everything was lined up for him” in terms of the conditions and the draw.<br />
“Nadal has changed the paradigm”<br />
<br />
Mary Carillo thinks Nadal is the man to beat, not only at Roland Garros but on any surface: “As much as you can hand every artistic and aesthetic accolade to Federer, Rafa Nadal has changed the way the game is played. . .not just on clay but anywhere. If you want to be the greatest tennis player you can be, you watch Nadal. I think he’s changed the sport in terms of how demanding and punishing the game is. Nadal has changed the paradigm.”<br />
What about Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray?<br />
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More than Federer, McEnroe likes Djokovic’s chances against the paradigm-changing Spaniard: “I put Djokovic slightly ahead as the favorite over Roger and I think the draw will be crucial. Roger would much rather see Andy Murray on his side of the draw and I think Rafa will feel the same way.”<br />
<br />
I asked if Andy Murray, as the new World No. 3, was completely out of the Roland Garros conversation, especially if he landed on Federer’s side of the draw.<br />
<br />
“What he lacks is being physically offensive.” said McEnroe of Murray. “On the other surfaces he’s able to nick you here, dink you there and he gets help from the surface. But on clay he needs to go after the ball with his whole body. I don’t expect him to live up to his seeding. . .I don’t like his chances against Federer on clay.”<br />
Do the American men stand a chance?<br />
<br />
The Davis Cup Captain has lowered expectations for the American men at Roland Garros: “I’ve said it the last couple of years and I’ll say it again: a good result for the American men will be to have one of them around at the end of week one.”<br />
<br />
The plot thickens on Friday, when the Roland Garros draw will be released. Who do you think is the biggest threat to Rafa’s reign?<br />
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via <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com">GOTOTENNIS</a>CHRIS EVERT ON ROGER FEDERER: “I CRY EVERY TIME HE LOSES”tag:tennisopolis.com,2009-05-21:1869403:BlogPost:3093022009-05-21T06:20:18.000ZFreakyFriteshttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/FreakyFrites
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/chris_evert_lloyd.jpg"></img></p>
<br />
Who knew that 18-time Grand Slam champ, Chris Evert, was such a hard core Fedophile? I’m putting her in the “Historian” category, due to the fact that she also really admires Nadal. Here’s the money quote from her ESPN interview with Bonnie D. Ford (click here for the full article):<br />
<br />
“Isn’t there something about Federer that pulls at your heartstrings? I cry every time he loses a match, and I don’t even know the guy. (Laughs) There’s something so…
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/chris_evert_lloyd.jpg"/></p>
<br />
Who knew that 18-time Grand Slam champ, Chris Evert, was such a hard core Fedophile? I’m putting her in the “Historian” category, due to the fact that she also really admires Nadal. Here’s the money quote from her ESPN interview with Bonnie D. Ford (click here for the full article):<br />
<br />
“Isn’t there something about Federer that pulls at your heartstrings? I cry every time he loses a match, and I don’t even know the guy. (Laughs) There’s something so endearing about him as a person.”<br />
<br />
Chris Evert on Federer vs. Nadal (I’m guessing this was pre-Madrid final):<br />
<br />
“The thing that concerns me about Roger is, I just don’t know if his best is going to be good enough to beat Nadal. I don’t really see him playing out of the box, so to speak; I don’t see him changing anything, and that is what must happen if he wants to turn the tide. And also you have the added dimension of Andy Murray emerging, and [Novak] Djokovic, he seems to have gotten it back together.”<br />
<br />
Chris Evert on the great Federer coach debate:<br />
<br />
I think Roger’s his best coach. I don’t think there’s anyone better than him out there. Maybe someone to help him with training, fitness, getting stronger. If he can’t beat [Nadal], join him. Maybe he needs to get into the gym more. And by the way, he might be doing all this already, I don’t know. The fitness level could improve and that will bring along with it quickness and more power. But as far as playing the game and tactics, Roger is the best judge of that. Fitness helps you psychologically, there’s no doubt about it. When Martina started cleaning my clock, I said, I at least have to give myself a chance here, and so I went into the gym. Not to try to copy her, but just to be the best I could be and the strongest I could be. I think that’s what Roger needs to think about. Now’s not the time, but after this year when you have a period of six weeks, two months where you can really train hard.<br />
<br />
Obviously all the balanced analysis is just Chrissie’s attempt to hide her blatant Fedophile tendencies. Move over, Marion Bartoli, you’ve got some Hall of Fame competition.<br />
<br />
via <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com">GOTOTENNIS</a><br />
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Chris Evert smokes ‘em on grass. Photo: Tony Duffy/Getty Images via LifeDOPERS, EN GUARD! TOUGH ANTI-DOPING TESTING AT ROLAND GARROStag:tennisopolis.com,2009-05-21:1869403:BlogPost:3093002009-05-21T06:18:41.000ZFreakyFriteshttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/FreakyFrites
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/richard_gasquet_roland_garros.jpg"></img></p>
Tough new anti-doping controls will be in effect at this year’s Roland Garros.<br />
<br />
From Le Monde (click here for the original, my translation):<br />
<br />
“This year, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, like all players who compete at Roland Garros (May 24 to Sunday June 7) will not only be subject to traditional anti-doping controls by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), but also those carried out by the very effective French Agency for the fight against doping…
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/richard_gasquet_roland_garros.jpg"/></p>
Tough new anti-doping controls will be in effect at this year’s Roland Garros.<br />
<br />
From Le Monde (click here for the original, my translation):<br />
<br />
“This year, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, like all players who compete at Roland Garros (May 24 to Sunday June 7) will not only be subject to traditional anti-doping controls by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), but also those carried out by the very effective French Agency for the fight against doping (AFLD).<br />
<br />
Under a new World Anti-Doping Code, which allows an organization to implement national anti-doping tests in addition to those organized by a federation for a major competition, the president of the AFLD, Pierre Bordry, asked his counterpart at the ITF for the right to make additional checks during the fortnight in Paris. The ITF agreed. “The AFLD will conduct random and targeted checks at Roland-Garros,” Pierre Bordry confirms. “The tests will be organized according to the information we have and the evidence available from the ITF.“<br />
<br />
Before the 2008 Tour de France, the AFLD received a “tip” from the Italian Olympic Committee - that riders were using CERA, the new generation of the (blood boosting drug) EPO - to find this substance in the urine of several cyclists. Does the AFLD have a similar clue before Roland Garros?<br />
<br />
“Does the AFLD have a similar clue before Roland Garros?” Now that’s the million dollar question. It will be interesting to see how this story develops - are certain players really being targeted or is this just extra sensitivity brought on by l’affaire Gasquet?<br />
<br />
The last time the AFLD tested at Roland Garros was in 2006. For the past two years the ITF has tested, exclusively, and used a Swedish sampling company and labs in Montreal (the same labs that recently found cocaine in Gasquet’s urine.) No one has tested positive for drugs at Roland Garros since Mariano Puerta, after making it to the final in 2005.<br />
<br />
The AFLD is hard core - it’s famously the thorn in Lance Armstrong’s side (click here.) If I were a tennis pro, I’d be terrified to eat a hot dog or a bag of Fritos right now. Who the heck knows what’s in those things, anyway? Stick to organics, guys.<br />
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“It was only this much.” Gasquet photo by Reuters via Ouest-France<br />
<br />
via <a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/">GOTOTENNIS</a>RICHARD GASQUET SUSPENDED FOR COCAINE, SAFIN BLAMES PARTY FOULtag:tennisopolis.com,2009-05-12:1869403:BlogPost:3052612009-05-12T00:22:59.000ZFreakyFriteshttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/FreakyFrites
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/gasquet_partying.jpg"></img></p>
The AP reported today that Richard Gasquet has been officially suspended from competition after testing positive for cocaine in Miami. He will be off the tour at least until the ITF holds an anti-doping tribunal on the matter, which could take up to 60 days to arrange. This means Richard Gasquet will definitely miss Roland Garros. He could face a two-year ban if found guilty.<br />
<br />
Gilbert Ysern, director general of the French Federation had this to…
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/gasquet_partying.jpg"/></p>
The AP reported today that Richard Gasquet has been officially suspended from competition after testing positive for cocaine in Miami. He will be off the tour at least until the ITF holds an anti-doping tribunal on the matter, which could take up to 60 days to arrange. This means Richard Gasquet will definitely miss Roland Garros. He could face a two-year ban if found guilty.<br />
<br />
Gilbert Ysern, director general of the French Federation had this to say:<br />
<br />
“Richard is devastated by this announcement,” said Ysern, also tournament director of the French Open. “On a human level, we can support him. If he did nothing wrong, we hope he will know how to prove it, but we are not his lawyer.”<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/05/11/richard-gasquet-suspended-for-cocaine-safin-blames-party-foul/">CONTINUE READING...</a>Serena Williams Interview Third Round Roland Garros Videotag:tennisopolis.com,2008-05-30:1869403:BlogPost:1003452008-05-30T14:45:05.000ZWTA and ATP Tennis Blogshttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/WTAandATPTennisBlogs
<strong><a href="http://tenniswta.blogspot.com/2008/05/video-serena-williams-interview-third.html">Video: Serena Williams Interview Third Round Roland Garros</a></strong><br />
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<object height="350" width="410"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hPC989dX_xg&amp;hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="opaque"></param><embed allowscriptaccess="never" height="350" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hPC989dX_xg&amp;hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="410" wmode="opaque"></embed> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="never"></param></object>
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Read the complete <a href="http://tenniswta.blogspot.com/2008/05/serena-williams-roland-garros-post.html">Press Conference Here</a><br />
Serna Williams' Video from <a href="http://tenniswta.blogspot.com">WTA Womens Tennis…</a>
<strong><a href="http://tenniswta.blogspot.com/2008/05/video-serena-williams-interview-third.html">Video: Serena Williams Interview Third Round Roland Garros</a></strong><br />
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<object width="410" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hPC989dX_xg&amp;hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hPC989dX_xg&amp;hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="410" height="350" allowscriptaccess="never"></embed><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="never"></param></object>
<br />
Read the complete <a href="http://tenniswta.blogspot.com/2008/05/serena-williams-roland-garros-post.html">Press Conference Here</a><br />
Serna Williams' Video from <a href="http://tenniswta.blogspot.com">WTA Womens Tennis Blog</a>Former champion Serena Williams crashes to Srebotnik in Roland Garrostag:tennisopolis.com,2008-05-30:1869403:BlogPost:1002892008-05-30T11:41:28.000ZWTA and ATP Tennis Blogshttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/WTAandATPTennisBlogs
<a href="http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/2131/1c3432c13f94be530895bc0se2.jpg"><img alt="Serena Williams reacts during a match break with Slovak player Katarina Srebotnik during the third round of the French Tennis Open, at Roland Garros" border="0" src="http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/2131/1c3432c13f94be530895bc0se2.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;"></img></a><br />
<strong><a href="http://tenniswta.blogspot.com/2008/05/former-champion-serena-williams-crashes.html">Former champion Serena Williams crashes to Srebotnik in Roland Garros</a></strong><br />
<br />
Serena Williams, former champion at Roland Garros, crashed out 6-4 6-4 to Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik in the third round on Friday.<br />
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Williams, who won the French Open in 2002 always looked second best on Court Suzanne…
<a href="http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/2131/1c3432c13f94be530895bc0se2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/2131/1c3432c13f94be530895bc0se2.jpg" border="0" alt="Serena Williams reacts during a match break with Slovak player Katarina Srebotnik during the third round of the French Tennis Open, at Roland Garros"/></a><br />
<strong><a href="http://tenniswta.blogspot.com/2008/05/former-champion-serena-williams-crashes.html">Former champion Serena Williams crashes to Srebotnik in Roland Garros</a></strong><br />
<br />
Serena Williams, former champion at Roland Garros, crashed out 6-4 6-4 to Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik in the third round on Friday.<br />
<br />
Williams, who won the French Open in 2002 always looked second best on Court Suzanne Lenglen as Srebotnik, the 27th seed, claimed her first win over the American in four meetings in 90 minutes.<br />
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Srebotnik will play Swiss 10th seed Patty Schnyder or France’s Emilie Loit for a place in the quarter-finals.<br />
<br />
Check out more at <a href="http://tenniswta.blogspot.com/2008/05/former-champion-serena-williams-crashes.html">WTA Womens Tennis Blog</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Photo credit should read FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty ImagesJelena Jankovic Interview Second Round Roland Garrostag:tennisopolis.com,2008-05-30:1869403:BlogPost:1002852008-05-30T11:36:05.000ZWTA and ATP Tennis Blogshttp://tennisopolis.com/profile/WTAandATPTennisBlogs
<strong><a href="http://tenniswta.blogspot.com/2008/05/video-jelena-jankovic-interview-second.html">Video: Jelena Jankovic Interview Second Round Roland…</a></strong>
<strong><a href="http://tenniswta.blogspot.com/2008/05/video-jelena-jankovic-interview-second.html">Video: Jelena Jankovic Interview Second Round Roland Garros</a></strong><br />
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<object width="410" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aKATuZI42nc&amp;hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aKATuZI42nc&amp;hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="410" height="350" allowscriptaccess="never"></embed><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="never"></param></object>